Draft Legislative Programme 2007/8

SALE OF STUDENT LOANS BILL

The purpose of the bill is to:

enable the Secretary of State to conduct a programme of sales of the student loan portfolio

The main benefits of the bill are:

to enable the most effective way to handle this large and growing Government asset, realising £6 billion in receipts over the next three years;
transactions will represent good value for money, including a genuine risk transfer to the capital markets; and this should be reflected within the UK national accounts;
the sales will make no difference to the terms and conditions for individual borrowers

The main elements of the bill are:

to take powers for the Secretary of State to assign his rights and obligations in respect of income-contingent student loans to a third-party purchaser;
to take powers for the Secretary of State to incur expenditure and make arrangements in connection with such an assignment;
to take data sharing powers so that information on the loans held by HM Revenue & Customs can be disclosed to the purchaser

The Bill would apply to:

England. The Government will work closely with the Devolved Administrations on the responsibilities that they have in this area.

Related Documents:

Existing Legislation in this area is:

Teaching and Higher Education Act 1998 (and regulations made under section 22 of that Act)
Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005

Comments:

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